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"Gin flowed like water, women smoked, sexually transmitted diseases ran rampant because everybody
was promiscuous..."
"You're getting the idea. But it's nothing new. People had cycles when rules were suspended even back
in the Roman Empire. There were orgies and every evil known to man thrived. Then society woke up
and the cycle started all over again. The only certain thing in life, Miss York, is change."
"I suppose so. But it's discouraging."
"Maybe you haven't heard, but the majority of people in this country feel exactly the same way you
do," he said. "America is still a very moral place, little one. But it's what's different that makes news,
not what's traditional."
"I see." She smiled. "That's encouraging."
"You come from wealth. Odd that you don't have an exaggerated sense of morality to go with it."
"You mean, because I was rich, I should be greedy and pleasure-loving and indifferent to my fellow
man?" she teased. "Actually, that's a stereotype."
"I get the picture." He stared at her silently, his eyes growing dark with memory. "I wanted you like
hell. But in a way, I'm glad you aren't on the pill."
She eyed him curiously. "You didn't sound glad."
"Wanting hurts a man when he can't satisfy it," he explained matter-of-factly. "But you weren't on the
pill and I didn't have anything with me to protect you from pregnancy. That's one risk I'll never take."
She smiled at him. "I feel the same way."
His eyes wanned. "We'd better not create any accidental people," he said softly. "That's why I stopped.
That," he added, "and the fact that I'm too old-fashioned to dishonor a chaste woman. Go ahead.
Laugh," he invited. "But it's how I feel."
"Oh, Donavan, you and I are throwbacks to another time," she said heavily. "There's no place for us
on earth."
"Why, sure there is, honey," he disagreed. "I'll carry you to church with me one Sunday and prove to
you that we're not alone in the way we think. Listen, it's the radicals who are the minority." He leaned
closer. "But the radicals are the ones who make news."
She laughed. "I guess so. I'd like to go to church with you," she said shyly. "I haven't been in a long
time. Our housekeeper used to let me go to services with her, but when she quit I had no way to get
there. It was before I was old enough to drive."
"Poor little rich girl," he said, but he smiled and the words sounded affectionate.
She smiled back. Everything had changed, suddenly. She looked at him and knew without question that
she could love him if she was ever given the chance.
He reached out and tapped her cheek. "Let's go. And from now on, stay out of lonely ranch houses
with amorous bachelors. Got that?"
"You were the one who dragged me here," she exclaimed.
"That's right, blame it all on me," he agreed after he'd put the coffee things away and then escorted her
out the door. "It's always the man who leads the sweet, innocent girl into a life of sin."
She frowned. "Isn't it the woman who's supposed to lead the innocent man into it?"
He raised both eyebrows as he locked the door. "There aren't any innocent men."
"A likely story. What about priests and monks?"
He sighed. "Well, other than them," he conceded.
"I like your house," she said.
He opened the car door and put her inside. "I like it, too." He got in and started the engine, pausing to
glance her way. "We may be heading for a fall, but I'm game if you are."
"Game?" she asked blankly.
He slid a lean hand under her nape and brought her face under his, very gently. He bent to kiss her,
with tenderness and respect. "In the old days," he whispered, "they called it courting."
She felt a wave of heat rush over her. Wide-eyed, she stared helplessly up at him.
He nodded, his face solemn. "That's right, I said I didn't believe in marriage. But there's always the
one woman who can make a man change his mind." His eyes dropped to her mouth. "I want Jeff. If I'm
married I have a good chance of getting him. But you and I could give each other a lot, too. If you're
willing, we'll start spending time together and see where it leads."
"I'm rich," she began hesitantly.
"Don't worry. I won't hold it against you," he whispered, smiling as he kissed her again. What he
didn't mention was that he had his own suspicions about her future. He didn't think she was going to
inherit anything at all, and that would put her right in his league. She'd be lost and alone, except for
him, when the boom fell. She was sweet and biddable and he wanted her. Jeff needed a stable
environment. It wouldn't hurt his chances with the new president of Mesa Blanco to be a settled family
man, either, but that was only a minor consideration. Jeff came first. He'd worry about the
complications later. Right now, he was going to get in over his head for once without looking too
closely at his motives.
Chapter Five
It was all Fay could do to work the next day. She was so lighthearted that she wondered how she
managed to keep both feet on the floor.
Her dreams of being with Donavan honestly hadn't included marriage because he'd said that he didn't
believe in it. In fact, he'd given her hell for chasing him. How ironic that she'd landed in his orbit at
all.
Probably, she had to admit, he needed a wife so that he could gain custody of his nephew, and to help
him get ahead in his job. He didn't want a rich wife. . But why, then, was he paying her any attention at
all? She'd been honest with him. She'd told him that in a couple of weeks she stood to inherit a fortune.
Hadn't he believed her?
Work piled up and she realized that she was paying more attention to her own thoughts than she was
to her job, so she settled down to the job-related problems.
 How's everything going?" Abby asked when she came by to meet Calhoun for lunch.
"Great!"
Abby lifted a curious eyebrow. "Really?"
She glanced around her and leaned forward.  Donavan's taking me out."
"J.D.?"
"Don't look so horrified," Fay laughed. "He's serious. He was the perfect gentleman last night and he
actually talked about a commitment."
"J.D.?"
Fay nodded. "J.D. Did you know he had a nephew and there's a custody suit in the offing?"
"Yes," Abby said, sobering at once. "The poor little boy's had a hard time. I don't like J.D. a lot, but I'll
give him credit for caring about Jeff. He really does." She frowned. "Is that why he's talking
seriously?"
"Probably," Fay said, then she smiled. "I don't have any illusions that he's suddenly discovered
undying love for me. But he might learn to love me one day. Love takes time."
"Yes," Abby said, remembering. "But you're still rich."
"He said it wouldn't matter."
Abby didn't say another word, until she was alone with Calhoun. "I'm afraid Fay's heading for a bad
fall," she told him when they were sharing a quick lunch. "J.D. doesn't seem to mind about her
inheritance, but you know how he is about rich women."
"I think he's got some suspicions that her Uncle Henry isn't telling her everything. I have some of my
own," he added. "I wonder if Fay has anything left to inherit."
"I had the same feeling. Poor Fay. J.D. doesn't love her, I know he doesn't. He's too much of a
womanizer to feel anything deep for a woman."
Calhoun lifted an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "He may be a reforming womanizer." He covered her
hand with his and clasped it affectionately. "We all meet our Waterloo eventually. God, I'm glad I met
mine with you!"
"Oh, so am I, my darling," she said softly. She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly, despite the
amused looks from other diners. "You and the boys are my whole life." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]